Sustainable Project-Based Learning

Five Steps for Designing Authentic Classroom Experiences in Grades 5–12 “In Sustainable Project-Based Learning, Brad Sever doesn’t shy away from the hard questions. Instead, he leverages them to guide readers through their own deep inquiry experiences. His background as a veteran PBL teacher, school leader, and instructional coach makes him an ideal guide for the journey. His classroom-tested tools and research-based strategies will help readers reach their ultimate destination: better out­comes for students.”

—From the foreword by Suzie Boss “Take heed of Brad Sever’s advice in Sustainable Project-Based Learning, and you’ll be able to implement project-based learning that strikes at the very heart of advancing student academic learning and social-emotional well-being, and collective teacher efficacy. This important resource helps educators synthesize the latest research and practice to ensure project-based learning is actionable and sustainable in their schools.”

—Michael McDowell, Superintendent and Author

Sustainable Project-Based Learning

Five Steps for Designing Authentic Classroom Experiences in Grades 5–12

Grades 5–12 teachers will: • Learn the benefits of project-based learning and social-emotional learning for student growth and academic achievement • Discover a five-step process for planning SPBL units, integrating social-emotional learning and teacher action research, and maintaining a comprehensive SPBL framework in their curriculum • Receive reproducible tools and templates they can use independently or collaboratively to maximize student learning • Understand how to promote authentic student learning through connections to real-world experiences • Reflect with end-of-chapter questions to enhance their understanding of the material

ISBN 978-1-952812-33-0

Brad Sever

In Sustainable Project-Based Learning: Five Steps for Designing Authentic Classroom Experiences in Grades 5–12, author Brad Sever provides educators with a comprehensive instructional framework for sustainable project-based learning (SPBL). SPBL creates authentic learning experiences that allow students to gain knowledge and skills and transfer them across real-world contexts.

Sever shares a five-step process for integrating SPBL, along with social-emotional learning skills, into the curriculum. Educators learn how to plan, implement, and maintain project-based units that produce meaningful learning experiences for all students.

“Brad Sever is emerging as one of the top educational minds in project-based learning (PBL). In Sustainable Project-Based Learning, he makes PBL real and easily applicable for both teachers and students. Sever shows educators how to engage stakeholders in the PBL process and masterfully develops the much-needed connections between PBL and social-emotional learning into a comprehensive how-to guide that schools can use to effectively implement PBL to ensure sustainability.”

—Craig McCaffrey, Principal, Noblesville High School, Noblesville, Indiana

Sustainable Project-Based Learning

Sustainable Project-Based Learning

90000

Visit go.SolutionTree.com/21stcenturyskills to download the free reproducibles in this book.

SolutionTree.com

9 781952 812330

Brad Sever

Foreword by Suzie Boss

Five Steps for Designing Authentic Classroom Experiences in Grades 5–12

Brad Sever

Foreword by Suzie Boss

©️2022 by Solution Tree Press

Sustainable Project-Based Learning

Copyright © 2022 by Solution Tree Press Materials appearing here are copyrighted. With one exception, all rights are reserved. Readers may reproduce only those pages marked “Reproducible.” Otherwise, no part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without prior written permission of the publisher.

555 North Morton Street Bloomington, IN 47404 800.733.6786 (toll free) / 812.336.7700 FAX: 812.336.7790 email: info@SolutionTree.com SolutionTree.com Visit go.SolutionTree.com/21stcenturyskills to download the free reproducibles in this book.

Printed in the United States of America

Names: Sever, Brad, author.

Title: Sustainable project-based learning : five steps for designing authentic classroom experiences in grades 5-12 / Brad Sever.

Description: Bloomington : Solution Tree Press, [2022] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2021060995 (print) | LCCN 2021060996 (ebook) | ISBN 9781952812330 (paperback) | ISBN 9781952812347 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Project method in teaching. | Social learning. | Emotional intelligence.

Classification: LCC LB1027.43 .S48 2022 (print) | LCC LB1027.43 (ebook) | DDC 371.3/6--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021060995 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021060996 Solution Tree Jeffrey C. Jones, CEO Edmund M. Ackerman, President Solution Tree Press President and Publisher: Douglas M. Rife Associate Publisher: Sarah Payne-Mills Managing Production Editor: Kendra Slayton Editorial Director: Todd Brakke Art Director: Rian Anderson Copy Chief: Jessi Finn Senior Production Editor: Christine Hood Content Development Specialist: Amy Rubenstein Acquisitions Editor: Sarah Jubar Copy Editor: Jessi Finn Proofreader: Mark Hain Text Designer: Fabiana Cochran Cover Designer: Laura Cox Editorial Assistants: Charlotte Jones, Sarah Ludwig, and Elijah Oates

©️2022 by Solution Tree Press

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

On the road to accomplishing your dreams, you will face challenges.

May you always have the courage and strength to persevere through those challenges.

Love always and unconditionally, Dad

©️2022 by Solution Tree Press

To Brock and Ella,

©️2022 by Solution Tree Press

TA BL E OF CON T EN TS

©️2022 by Solution Tree Press

About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 The Purpose of This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 What’s in This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Part I The What and Why of Project-Based Learning .

. . . . . . . . . . .

7

Chapter 1

Defining Sustainable Project-Based Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 A Definition of Project-Based Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10

Research Supporting PBL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 The Why of PBL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Questions for Reflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

20

Challenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

20

Chapter 2

Reviewing the Seven PBL Design Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 The Seven Design Elements of PBL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 The PBL Equalizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Questions for Reflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

38

Challenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

38

| ix

x |

SUSTAINABLE PROJECT-BASED LEARNING

Chapter 3

Maintaining a Sustainable Relationship With Project-Based Learning . . . . . . . 39 The Importance of Sustainability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

40

Implementation of PBL for Sustainability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Traditional PBL Versus Sustainable PBL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

46

Common Errors in Sustainability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

48

What Makes a PBL Unit Sustainable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Questions for Reflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

53

Challenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

53

Chapter 4

A Definition of Social and Emotional Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 An Equal Emphasis on SEL and Academic Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

57

SEL Skills for Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Questions for Reflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

66

Challenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

66

Part II The How of Sustainable Project-Based Learning .

. . . . . . . . . . 67

Chapter 5

Step 1: Planning the SPBL Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 The Five Stages for Planning an SPBL Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Tips for Planning an SPBL Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Questions for Reflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

85

Challenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

85

Chapter 6

Step 2: Developing SPBL Assessments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Common Assessments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 The Four Essential Documents for SPBL Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Effective Assessment of Growth in SEL Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

98

Tips for Developing SPBL Assessments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Questions for Reflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Challenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

©️2022 by Solution Tree Press

Integrating Social and Emotional Learning Into SPBL Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Table of Contents

| xi

Chapter 7

Step 3: Establishing a Clear Goal for Student Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 SMART Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Tips for Establishing a Clear Goal for Student Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Questions for Reflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Challenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Chapter 8

Step 4: Conducting Teacher Action Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 The Action in Action Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Protocols to Analyze Evidence of Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112 Tips for Conducting Teacher Action Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 Questions for Reflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 Challenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Chapter 9

Step 5: Reflecting, Refining, and Celebrating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Reflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Refinement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 Celebration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Tips for Reflecting, Refining, and Celebrating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 Questions for Reflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 Challenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Chapter 10

Transferring Learning Through Three Simultaneous Experiences . . . . . . . . . 133 The Student Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 The Teacher Team Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 The Individual Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 Questions for Reflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 Challenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Appendix A: Glossary of Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

©️2022 by Solution Tree Press

Equity in Teacher Action Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

xii |

SUSTAINABLE PROJECT-BASED LEARNING

Appendix B: Protocol Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 What? So What? Now What? Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 Examining Student Work Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Tuning Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 Lesson Study Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Focused Observation Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 Charrette Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 Inter-Rater Reliability Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 Harkness Discussion Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 Gallery Walk Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 Goal-Setting Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Example 1: Grade 8 Mathematics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 Example 2: Grade 9 Biology for English Learners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 Example 3: Grades 10–12 Algebra II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 Example 4: Grade 8 Language Arts or Social Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 Example 5: Grade 12 Project Lead The Way—Biomedical Innovation (Problem 5: Combating a Public Health Issue) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 Example 6: Grades 11–12 Data Analytics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168 Example 7: Grades 11–12 English (AP Literature) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

References and Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

©️2022 by Solution Tree Press

Appendix C: Example SPBL Unit Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

A BOU T THE AU THOR

©️2022 by Solution Tree Press

B

rad Sever serves as an assistant principal at Carmel High School in Carmel, Indiana. During his time in this position, he helped create and sustain a successful instructional-coaching program and grow the school’s International Baccalaureate program, as well as parts of the dual-credit program. Brad also served as the school testing coordinator and 504 coordinator, and oversaw the social studies, mathematics, and science departments.

Brad has been an educator since 2002. Prior to his current role, Brad served as a project-based learning (PBL) coach and an instructional coach in a large urban district, an assistant principal for an expeditionary learning charter school, and a teacher at a middle school where he helped develop an integrated social studies and language arts PBL course.

Brad is a national presenter, speaking on project-based learning, instructional coaching, and leadership. He has consulted for over one hundred schools around the United States and Australia.

He has provided professional development for charter schools and urban, rural, and suburban schools. Since 2010, he has served as a national faculty member for PBLWorks (formerly the Buck Institute for Education).

Brad holds a bachelor of science in secondary social studies education from Huntington University and a master of arts in educational leadership from Ball State University. He has over thirty hours of coursework completed toward his EdS in educational leadership, also from Ball State University. Brad is trained in cognitive coaching, expeditionary learning, and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, and he has attended numerous trainings on equity and inclusion. His practical approach to professional development comes from the variety of experiences and perspectives he has gained.

To learn more about Brad’s work, visit the Sustainable Project-Based Learning website (www.perseveranceeducation.com), or follow him @BradSever on Twitter.

To book Brad Sever for professional development, contact pd@SolutionTree.com.

| xiii

©️2022 by Solution Tree Press

FOR EWOR D

By Suzie Boss

©️2022 by Solution Tree Press

I

n their quest to better prepare students for the challenges and opportunities ahead, schools are turning to project-based learning (PBL) as the answer. As a longtime advocate of PBL, I’m encouraged by this momentum. High-quality PBL can deliver a wide range of benefits, from increased student engagement and deeper learning to development of nonacademic competencies that are essential for college, careers, and active citizenship.

But the truth is PBL also raises a host of questions. Educators who are new to this approach ask about everything from curriculum (“How will I ever cover the content?”) to teaching strategies (“What’s the teacher’s role in student-centered learning?”) to assessment (“How will we evaluate students’ work if they all make different products?”) to initiative overload (“How will we ever find time for this?”).

Brad Sever doesn’t shy away from the hard questions. Instead, he leverages them to guide readers through their own deep inquiry experiences. His background as a veteran PBL teacher, school leader, and instructional coach makes him an ideal guide for the journey. His classroom-tested tools and research-based strategies will help readers reach their ultimate destination: better outcomes for students.

What’s unique about Sever’s model is its emphasis on sustainable PBL (SPBL) as a comprehensive framework for instruction. Too many teachers have seen PBL rollouts start strong but lose steam as other worthy initiatives compete for attention, resources, and time for professional learning.

That can lead to frustration, with teachers losing energy for making the shift to student-centered learning. SPBL works best—for students and teachers alike—when school systems align it with their overall vision for student success.

Increasingly, schools are engaging with their communities to clarify what students should know and be able to do by the time they graduate. Schools typically summarize the resulting vision statements with a portrait of a graduate that appears on posters, websites, and classroom walls. | xv

xvi |

SUSTAINABLE PROJECT-BASED LEARNING

But coming up with an appealing graphic is just the start. To realize their new visions, school systems must tackle the hard work of aligning instruction, assessment, and professional learning with their North Star.

Sever offers a valuable framework to help educators navigate this backward-design challenge.

His approach is not to start from scratch when it comes to teaching and learning. Instead, he integrates well-established practices: academically rigorous PBL, social and emotional learning (SEL), collaborative teamwork, and high-impact instructional strategies. In his framework, these are not one-off or optional initiatives; they are all essential to making PBL sustainable. As he reminds us throughout this book, the destination is not fidelity to a particular PBL model but rather increased student learning. SPBL provides the means to get there.

In SPBL, teachers are not only intentional designers of student learning; they are also learners themselves. Sever’s framework emphasizes action research as core to the work of being a PBL teacher. By collaborating to investigate problems of practice, teachers can overcome PBL pitfalls and fine-tune projects to meet the needs of diverse learners. When teachers examine student work together, they clarify what it means to see evidence of student growth in PBL. They can brainstorm formative strategies to keep learning on track. When they set goals for improvement, they challenge each other to pursue more equitable outcomes for all students. School leaders and instructional coaches can support teachers in this important work by providing them with time and tools to build their collective efficacy.

Although Sever advocates using collaborative teams as a core component of SPBL, he acknowledges that not every school dedicates time for teacher collaboration. He offers advice for teachers who are on solo journeys to help them build their own efficacy with sustainable PBL. This thought-provoking book arrives at a critical time for education as schools continue to wrestle with student learning loss, disengagement, and teacher burnout resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. How can you design a new normal for teaching and learning that prepares all students for the challenges ahead? Anyone who has spent time in a PBL environment will recognize that as a compelling driving question. With this book, Brad Sever provides you with a road map to help you discover your own solutions.

©️2022 by Solution Tree Press

Readers who start from different levels of familiarity with PBL will find plenty to think about in the chapters ahead. Newcomers will find clear definitions to build their PBL vocabulary and tools to scaffold project planning. Those with more PBL experience will be challenged to consider SEL goals for their projects alongside academic outcomes at the surface, deep, and transfer levels of learning.

INTRODUCTION

©️2022 by Solution Tree Press

P

roject-based learning (PBL) has intrigued me for more than sixteen years. Maybe it is because as a student, I loved understanding real-world applications of what I was learning. It could be because as a teacher, instructional coach, administrator, and consultant, I have seen PBL empower students from all grade levels, contexts, subjects, and demographics. I not only have seen what it has done for students, but also for teachers. I have seen teachers who were on the verge of retirement discover PBL and become reinvigorated. Throughout this book, I describe what it’s like to have a relationship with PBL. So, whether you are new to your relationship with PBL or you have had a long relationship with it, there is something in this book for you.

I come to this work as a practitioner and also as a student.

Let’s begin this journey with the hypothetical case study of Nishtiv School District—perhaps you can relate to it.

Case Study: Nishtiv School District Nishtiv School District (NSD) is a large public school district on the East Coast of the United States. The district consists of twelve elementary schools, three middle schools, and one large comprehensive high school. Nishtiv has a graduation rate of 73 percent. The graduation rate over the last five years has fluctuated between 71 percent and 76 percent. Within that five-year time frame, NSD has either formed a committee for or implemented each of the following initiatives.

•

Social and emotional learning

•

Grading practices

•

Diversity, equity, and inclusion

•

Professional learning community coalition

•

Response to intervention continued

| 1

2 |

SUSTAINABLE PROJECT-BASED LEARNING

•

Understanding by design

•

Visible learning practices (Visible Learning+, n.d.), based on John A. C. Hattie’s (2009) research

•

Differentiated instruction

•

Real-world learning for college and careers

NSD has worked hard to write and receive multiple professional development grants so teachers have been able to receive text resources and, on several occasions, attend trainings and seminars on some of these topics.

NSD administration displays a deep passion for providing teachers with professional development and professional learning opportunities. The administrators are willing to do whatever it takes to grow the plateauing graduation rate. However, the results of a recent school culture survey that NSD administered to all the teachers on campus raised some eyebrows. The survey was that they feel “overwhelmed,“ 31 percent stated that they “are considering looking for jobs at other schools,“ and 84 percent stated that they are “unclear of the school’s mission and vision.”

In addition to not reaching its graduation rate goals, NSD has another problem. The staff are suffering from initiative fatigue. Certainly, professional development is important, and all the initiatives have some level of value, but the district also should consider the well-being of the staff. As the staff survey indicated, this is a glaring issue. Instead of looking at each of these initiatives separately, NSD would benefit from a comprehensive instructional framework that incorporates elements of all the previously listed initiatives. Perhaps NSD would benefit from providing structures and procedures to discuss the following three questions.

1. How do you ensure at least one year’s growth in one year’s time?

2. How do you ensure an equal intensity of surface-, deep-, and transfer-level learning for each unit of study?

3. How do you define and provide intentional feedback to students on their growth in both content knowledge and SEL skills?

NSD would benefit from a comprehensive framework that incorporates not only research-based practices for unit planning but also clear and practical steps for conducting action research on its effectiveness. Ultimately, the district should implement the elements and steps of sustainable project-based learning (SPBL).

Although the preceding case study is a hypothetical example, if you can relate to challenges with too many initiatives, the process and templates in this book will be helpful.

Over the course of twenty years in education, I have had the privilege of serving as a PBL teacher and instructional coach, an administrator who helps facilitate PBL professional development, and a consultant for PBL through several different organizations, running workshops across the United States. As much as I love PBL, when I talk with teachers and other administrators who have implemented it, they have the same questions about teacher collaboration time and PBL. • “How do we use teacher collaboration time more efficiently and effectively so we focus on the evidence of learning?”

©️2022 by Solution Tree Press

anonymous, and the teachers responded honestly. Seventy-two percent of teachers stated

Introduction

| 3

• “How might we use discussion tools, such as protocols, during teacher collaboration time so all teachers feel confident in contributing to conversations in which they not only analyze student standardized test data but also the quality of student work?”

• “How should we best structure and discuss our formative assessments?”

• “PBL takes too long to plan and implement. How is it sustainable?”

• “How do we ensure that students are learning the content and social and emotional skills at deep and transfer levels?”

Also, as both an educator and a parent, I have deeply reflected on the significance of social and emotional learning (SEL). Addressing issues of self-awareness, responsible decision making, and social awareness are things both students and adults can benefit from. As I talk with school counselors, teachers, and administrators across the United States regarding SEL, their questions include the following.

• “How might SEL be genuinely integrated into the curriculum and not siloed or set aside as a separate initiative?”

• “How do we place a high value on SEL while still maintaining a focus on our core content?”

This book is different from other PBL books because it describes how to practically integrate SEL and teacher action research into the PBL process, in addition to emphasizing a focus on evidence of student learning as opposed to fidelity of implementation to the pedagogy. These are the aspects that make PBL more sustainable than typical PBL models.

The Purpose of This Book This book provides a clear road map to plan, implement, and sustain a PBL unit grounded in research-based practices and focused on evidence of student learning in both content and SEL skills.

It emphasizes PBL sustainability, addressing the challenges of the pedagogy and clearly explaining how to identify and assess SEL skills for each unit. This ensures that the “juice is worth the squeeze” because students are not only growing in content knowledge but also in SEL skills.

In addition, this book goes beyond reflection on PBL elements and dives deep into conducting action research around the evidence of student learning produced throughout each unit of study.

How is sustainable project-based learning (SPBL) different from just project-based learning (PBL)? First, it is a more comprehensive instructional framework. If SPBL were a vacation, it would be at an all-inclusive resort. Just like an all-inclusive resort, this book provides everything you need to plan, implement, and sustain high-quality teaching and learning.

The audience for this book is grades 5–12 educators, instructional coaches, and administrators who are interested in learning about a research-based, comprehensive instructional framework.

Although this process can be done successfully with an individual teacher, this book is best used as part of a book study with teams of educators, such as teacher teams, administrative teams,

©️2022 by Solution Tree Press

• “How should we define and assess SEL?”

4 |

SUSTAINABLE PROJECT-BASED LEARNING

curriculum teams, or any other collaborative team structure with members who have a passion for providing meaningful and authentic learning experiences for students. Part of the sustainable PBL process is teacher action research. Working in teams allows for deeper inspection and conversations around evidence of student learning.

What’s in This Book This book is organized into two parts. Part I, The What and Why of Project-Based Learning, contains four chapters. Chapter 1 explains why PBL can be a valuable methodology to promote meaningful learning experiences for students. Chapter 2 focuses on the seven design elements of SPBL and some of SPBL’s challenges and even weaknesses. Chapter 3 offers strategies for maintaining a sustainable relationship with PBL, and chapter 4 explains why and how SEL should be integrated into the curriculum.

Each chapter ends with a summary and questions for reflection, as well as a challenge to reinforce information from the chapter and promote next steps. You could use these questions for a collaborative book study or simply for individual reflection. In addition, some chapters feature perspectives from the field, which are written by teachers and administrators who have unique experiences in this work. You will find templates, charts, and practical tools to help you plan and implement a unit of study that incorporates core content, social and emotional learning, and teacher action research. Included are tips on raising awareness about equity and inclusion and clear definitions of common educational buzzwords.

The book concludes with three helpful appendices. Appendix A is a glossary of key terms used throughout the book. Appendix B offers a protocol library that includes helpful protocols for teachers to use both in the classroom and during teacher collaboration time. Appendix C

©️2022 by Solution Tree Press

Part II, The How of Sustainable Project-Based Learning, is the heart of the book. Over five chapters, it outlines the five-step process for how to plan and implement PBL so it is truly sustainable. Chapter 5 covers step 1, planning the SPBL unit, which includes the following five stages: (1) create a learning intention (major concepts) for both academic content and SEL; (2) develop content and SEL success criteria for each level of learning (surface, deep, and transfer); (3) craft the driving question at the transfer level, adding authentic context for the unit; (4) create tasks that align with the success criteria; and (5) create an entry event to launch the sustained-inquiry process. Chapter 6 covers step 2, developing sustainable PBL assessments, which includes generating a performance rubric that includes clear evidence of learning, creating written pre- and postassessments to measure quantitative growth, and creating anticipated student-generated questions based on the driving question or challenge they are trying to solve.

In SPBL, we call these need-to-knows. Chapter 7 covers step 3, establishing a clear goal for student learning. Chapter 8 covers step 4, conducting teacher action research, and chapter 9 covers step 5, reflecting, refining, and celebrating the successful completion of an authentic learning process. Finally, chapter 10 summarizes the process while also emphasizing that we, as educators, should not only ask key questions about evidence of student learning but also about our own personal and professional growth through self-reflection.

Introduction

| 5

contains examples of teacher-completed SPBL units across various content areas and grade levels. These appendices provide tools to support conversation and implementation of the work.

Summary This book is different than other PBL books. Not only does it define PBL, it also addresses its weaknesses and applies practice tools and research. You will walk away with clear steps to plan an SPBL unit that integrates and assesses SEL, and promotes teacher action research centered around evaluating evidence of student learning. Within these pages, you will find a comprehensive instructional framework that promotes research-based, rigorous, and authentic learning experiences for students that they can apply outside school walls now and in the future.

©️2022 by Solution Tree Press

©️2022 by Solution Tree Press

CHAPTER 3 MAINTAINING A SUSTAINABLE RELATIONSHIP WITH PROJECT-BASED LEARNING

©️2022 by Solution Tree Press

N

ow that we have laid the foundation and explained the purpose and benefits of project-based learning, it’s time to discuss a significant focus of this book—sustainability. This chapter presents some of the challenges of making PBL sustainable in schools. You will explore some pitfalls that lead to a lack of PBL sustainability and then consider specific approaches to support sustainability. But first, let’s look at a hypothetical case study of Harrison School District.

As you read, think about how you might relate to the Harrison School District experience.

Case Study: Harrison School District Harrison School District is an urban district located in the heart of the Rust Belt, a region of the Northeastern and Midwestern United States that has experienced industrial decline since the 1980s. The city of Harrison is made up of about one hundred thousand citizens. In the 1950s, Harrison was a thriving city that consisted mostly of working professionals. These professionals had high-wage jobs and amazing retirement pensions. The majority of these high-wage jobs were in the large automobile factories scattered around the city. Two major car-manufacturing plants were based in the town. There was another plant that manufactured the stereos that went into the automobiles. During this era, weekend nights spent around the courthouse square were like a scene from a movie. People mingled on the sidewalks as convertibles rolled by.

Buildings looked clean and shiny.

Fast-forward forty years, and Harrison was much different. The factories were all gone, and the city turned to the local school district to empower and equip students with the knowledge and skills needed for the 21st century. Conversations around new methods of teaching and learning created a buzz among local politicians and school administrators. “We want to provide students with a learning experience that engages them to solve real-world problems.” The community also continued

| 39

40 |

SUSTAINABLE PROJECT-BASED LEARNING

called on a greater devotion to equity in the curriculum. Test score data indicated that students of color were not performing as well on standardized tests as White students. In addition, student surveys indicated that a decent percentage of students of color did not feel as comfortable at school as White students.

The district administration shopped around several curriculum ideas and ultimately landed on project-based learning. The question that the Harrison School District administrators challenged one another with was, “How can we get all teachers to implement project-based learning?”

Harrison School District received a large grant for professional development, and a plan was put in place to train all 357 middle school and high school teachers across the district in PBL. The district invested $150,000 in professional development. All 357 teachers plus administrators went through a three-day introductory workshop in which they designed a PBL unit. The trainings were engaging and thoughtful and modeled a variety of best practices in PBL planning and implementation. District administrators mandated that all teachers who attended the training four PBL units the third year after training.

Fast-forward three years. A very small number of teachers were implementing PBL units throughout the district. Significant amounts of time, money, and resources were spent on Harrison’s PBL initiative. This was frustrating to teachers, administrators, and the community. The problem with Harrison School District’s plan was that the district did not approach PBL implementation with a vision for sustainability.

The Importance of Sustainability As you reflect on the hypothetical case study featuring Harrison School District, you will recognize why sustainability is so important. Consider the time and resources invested into project-based learning. All the teachers were pulled out of school for three days of valuable instructional time with the hope that the initiative would be implemented. The administration’s intentions were good, as they wanted to provide students with more meaningful learning experiences. However, they did not have a long-term vision that was sustainable.

Harrison School District was facing three issues.

1. It was mandating PBL from the top down.

2. It was not incorporating school-improvement plans or leveraging early adopters.

3. It was asking the wrong questions.

Let’s unpack each of these issues in the following sections and reflect on how these lessons might impact your own work with PBL.

Mandating PBL From the Top Down Harrison School District’s story is not uncommon when it comes to PBL implementation.

The administrators of Harrison School District had good intentions. They wanted to provide students with a relevant, rigorous, and engaging curriculum. However, they could have taken more initiative up front in gathering teacher input. Teachers could have had more ownership in the process instead of following a top-down mandate.

©️2022 by Solution Tree Press

would be expected to implement one PBL unit that year, two PBL units the following year, and

Maintaining a Sustainable Relationship With Project-Based Learning

| 41

Too often, administrators attend a conference, read a book, or find success doing certain things that work for them in their own classrooms and believe their schools should implement those ideas. There are two significant problems with this thinking.

1. Teaching is personal.

2. Forcing engagement can lead to teacher resistance.

Teaching Is Personal

Forcing Engagement Can Lead to Resistance

The artist needs some autonomy to paint their canvas, just like a teacher needs some autonomy to design and implement their PBL unit. Educational author Phillip C. Schlechty (2001) argues that there are different levels of engagement. Schlechty (2001) directs the levels of engagement toward student engagement, but these same levels can apply to teachers.

As you view Schlechty’s (2001) levels of engagement, consider them through two lenses—that of a student (in the classroom) and that of a teacher (pertaining to professional development).

Authentic engagement: The task, activity, or work the student is assigned or encouraged to undertake is associated with a result or outcome that has clear meaning and relatively immediate value to the student.

Ritual engagement: The immediate end of the assigned work has little or no inherent meaning or direct value to the student, but the student associates it with extrinsic outcomes and results that are of value.

Passive compliance: The student is willing to expend whatever effort is needed to avoid negative consequences, although he or she sees little meaning in the tasks assigned or the consequences of doing those tasks.

Retreatism: The student is disengaged from the tasks, expends no energy in attempting to comply with the demands of the tasks, but does not act in ways that disrupt others and does not try to substitute other activities for the assigned task.

Rebellion: The student summarily refuses to do the task, acts in ways that disrupt others, or attempts to substitute tasks and activities to which he or she is committed in lieu of those assigned or supported by the school and by the teacher. (pp. 65–66)

©️2022 by Solution Tree Press

There is an art to teaching. Just as great artists determine how to paint their canvas, great teachers must have some autonomy over their teaching. Anyone who has been a substitute teacher or implemented someone else’s lesson plans knows that envisioning how to implement plans you haven’t authored or don’t have ownership in can be difficult. It is like a cover band playing a song written by another artist. Sure, it might do OK, but no matter how hard the cover band tries, it cannot be the same as the original artist. Teaching is an art. The teacher is an artist, and teaching flourishes when the teacher is allowed some autonomy and ownership when designing and implementing their art. This is why when we discuss PBL, there are certain nonnegotiables to consider. These nonnegotiables add guidance and structure. At the same time, you should feel empowered to design and implement a PBL unit the way that you see fit.

42 |

SUSTAINABLE PROJECT-BASED LEARNING

Educators should reflect on Schlechty’s (2001) levels of engagement as they pertain to students in their classrooms, and school professional development leaders should reflect on these levels of engagement for teachers. If there is a top-down mandate such as, “All teachers will implement project-based learning,” the majority of teachers will implement PBL in an effort to comply. PBL, when implemented to comply with a top-down mandate, has the potential to be detrimental to student learning. If you force artists to perform a song that they do not want to perform, it will not sound as pure and meaningful as a song they feel passionate about.

Regardless of the professional development structure you provide in your school, note that you should never present it as being about fidelity to a specific PBL model. Your goal is to give teachers reasons to feel passionate about PBL. So instead, when rolling out PBL, professional development should be about asking fundamental questions. Following are some questions that help increase teacher and administrator consciousness as to the why of implementing more authentic learning experiences.

• How do you define rigor, and what evidence of that type of learning exists in your classroom?

• Are students gaining not only surface- and deep-level understanding but also transfer-level understanding of the content? Do they understand how to apply the content in the real world or in multiple contexts?

• What percentage of the time are you discussing quality student work (formal writing assignments, products, and so on)?

• If you were to survey students on whether they can see how to apply the content they are learning, what might they say?

It’s possible that educators can answer these questions about participating in PBL. However, the end goal for student learning is not PBL. The end goal is that students leave high school with the skills, dispositions, and characteristics that we want from the ideal graduate. Whatever those skills and dispositions are, that is the why—the ultimate goal and destination. The way must always be about learning. A mistake I have made in the past is making PBL about the why, but PBL is the how. Educators might turn away from PBL if you make it about the methodology and not about evidence of student learning.

Not Incorporating School-Improvement Plans or Leveraging Early Adopters I would rather work in a school where a few teachers were authentically engaged in implementing project-based learning and focused on using it as a methodology to enhance learning than work in a school where all teachers were passively compliant in their opinion and PBL implementation.

If PBL is a professional development initiative in a school, it should be because it is directly tied to the school-improvement plan and a means to accomplish the ultimate goal laid out in the school-improvement plan to enhance student learning.

Once you have a clear school-improvement plan or mission statement that promotes authentic learning through PBL, the next step is to leverage early adopters. When leading a PBL initiative, start with teachers who are genuinely interested and willing to implement the plan. These are the early adopters. For example, if you have a school-improvement plan or mission statement that sounds anything remotely like one of the following bullet points, consider restructuring your monthly faculty meetings and allowing conference-style choices for teachers.

©️2022 by Solution Tree Press

• In what ways are you intentionally defining and growing the qualities and skills we want from the ideal graduate?

Maintaining a Sustainable Relationship With Project-Based Learning

| 43

• We will provide real-world, hands-on experiences for students.

• We will provide students with opportunities to determine their professional passions.

• We will provide students with opportunities to be global citizens.

Figure 3.1 provides an example three-year professional development plan for school improvement, which allows teachers choice in what they want to learn. Note that all the choices are in direct alignment to the school improvement goals. To further explain the example in figure 3.1, teachers chose one of the professional development topics, met once per month, and focused on that topic for the duration of the school year. Providing choice generates opportunities for deeper learning.

School-Improvement Goals 1. We will provide real-world, hands-on learning to help students see the connections between their school experience and future experiences they will have after graduation.

2. We will cultivate a school environment to be safe and inclusive for all students.

• • • • •

Technology Integration Project-Based Learning Culturally Responsive Teaching Understanding by Design Differentiation

• • • • • • •

Year 2 Choices

Year 3 Choices

Technology Integration 101 Technology Integration 201 Project-Based Learning 101 Project-Based Learning 201 Culturally Responsive Teaching 101 Culturally Responsive Teaching 201 Differentiation

• Project-Based Learning 301 • Culturally Responsive Teaching 301 • Others based on teacher interests and needs

Appropriate Steps for the Process 1. School staff take a survey and choose the strand they are most interested in. For each session on each strand, administration clearly communicates that all these strands are under the umbrella of the two school-improvement goals.

2. Beyond the strategies and methods being taught, administration sets an expectation to focus on evidence of the impact on learning.

3. Both planning artifacts and student learning artifacts must be consistently discussed and shared within each professional development meeting strand.

4. Teachers who have experience in a particular strand should plan, lead, or co-lead sessions. These teacher leaders should receive a reasonable amount of time to plan each session.

5. Staff should receive feedback from one another or from the facilitator after every session.

Figure 3.1: Three-year professional development example.

The example in figure 3.1 is appropriate for a large school. For a smaller school, it might be more appropriate to restructure the options. For example, you might not offer as many choices, as the strands should be large enough that there can be a high level of teacher-to-teacher dialogue. This might be challenging to do with only a few teachers in each strand. No matter the school size, a common mistake would be to always focus on the strategy and not on student learning. Another mistake would be not allowing teachers to lead professional development or choose their topic.

The goal of professional development should not focus on implementation of a specific method or model.

The goal should focus on evidence of student growth in knowledge and skills. At the same time, as educators, we have a responsibility to refine and perfect our craft. Sometimes, learning can be like exercising. You know it’s good for you and you need to do it, but while you’re in the middle of it, it’s not fun. Afterward, however, you feel great. Setting a school-improvement plan with a clear professional development structure allowing

©️2022 by Solution Tree Press

Year 1 Choices

44 |

SUSTAINABLE PROJECT-BASED LEARNING

for early adopters to implement PBL can lead to authentic engagement for teachers and meaningful learning experiences for students. Ultimately, it promotes a sustainable relationship with PBL.

Asking the Wrong Questions You may have noticed that a common theme to sustaining PBL is asking the right questions. Harrison School District administrators asked the wrong questions. Harrison School District administrators were attracted to PBL because of the real-world application. Right away, they asked, “How can we get all teachers to implement project-based learning?” This is the wrong question, because it is about trying to get teacher compliance around a specific instructional approach. The question should always be about enhancing learning. If the questions are about the fidelity of implementation, then the priority is on the pedagogy and not the learning. If students are not learning, there is no reason to stay faithful to PBL’s seven design elements.

Flirting

• Teachers are attracted to the idea that students will learn content through application.

• Teachers philosophically agree that employability skills or SEL skills are important and should be a point of focus.

• Teachers’ focus is on the big-picture philosophy.

Dating

• Teachers learn and implement a PBL unit using a specific model (for example, PBLWorks, New Tech, or Expeditionary Learning).

• Teachers participate in intentional reflection and critique regarding their design of the project (for example, their entry events, rubrics, and need-to-know strategies).

• Teachers focus on fidelity to the model.

Engaged

• Teachers establish a clear learning intention and success criteria for each unit, and students are able to articulate where they are in their learning process (points of confusion, strengths, and weaknesses) within the context of the learning intention.

• Teachers focus their classroom culture on growth and progress in learning, not just the product.

• Teachers focus on the integrity of learning for each individual student.

Source: Adapted from © 2021 by Gavin Hays. Used with permission.

Figure 3.2: Evolution of a district’s relationship with PBL.

Married

• Teachers focus on collective efficacy (the belief that students can achieve surface, deep, and transfer levels of learning).

• Teacher team meetings and protocols are consistently centered on the following questions. a. What evidence of student learning do we have for surface, deep, and transfer levels of learning for each unit of study? b. How are we ensuring one year’s growth in one year’s time? c. How are we defining and providing intentional feedback to students in necessary skills (self-awareness, responsible decision making, and so on)?

©️2022 by Solution Tree Press

To understand how Harrison School District was asking the wrong questions, it is important to understand the evolution of a district’s relationship with PBL. Figure 3.2 shows this evolution through the metaphors of flirting, dating, engaged, and married.

Maintaining a Sustainable Relationship With Project-Based Learning

| 45

Figure 3.2 illustrates a district’s need to evolve from attempting PBL implementation with complete fidelity to maintaining PBL’s integrity as a means to student learning and growth. If you focus on implementation fidelity, at best, you will only “date” PBL. If you want to “marry” PBL, or look at it as a sustainable methodology, the key questions you pose should focus on student learning, not teacher compliance.

Implementation of PBL for Sustainability Harrison School District should have approached PBL in a way to ensure sustainability.

Sustainable PBL refers to a process in which teachers have an equal commitment to the following.

• Using the PBL design elements as an instructional framework for planning and implementing units of study

• Regularly meeting in teacher teams using protocols for action research, and discussing the following three SPBL questions: 1. How do you ensure at least one year’s growth in one year’s time?

2. How do you ensure an equal intensity of surface-, deep-, and transfer-level learning for each unit of study?

3. How do you define SEL skills and provide intentional feedback to students on their growth in both content knowledge and SEL skills?

There are aspects of the SPBL process that are nonnegotiable, while some aspects are negotiable. Table 3.1 provides some examples of nonnegotiable and negotiable aspects of SPBL. TABLE 3.1: Nonnegotiable and Negotiable Aspects of SPBL Nonnegotiable Aspects of SPBL

Negotiable Aspects of SPBL

An equal commitment to content learning intentions and success criteria and to SEL learning intentions and success criteria

How you determine learning intentions and success criteria

An equal intensity of surface-, deep-, and transferlevel success criteria for both academic and SEL tasks and assessments

What strategies and tasks you use to accomplish equal intensity

A commitment by teacher teams to action research focused on the three sustainable PBL questions: (1) How do you ensure at least one year’s growth in one year’s time? (2) How do you ensure an equal intensity of surface-, deep-, and transfer-level learning for each unit of study? and (3) How do you define and provide intentional feedback to students on their growth in both content knowledge and SEL skills?

What protocols you use during the action research process

continued

©️2022 by Solution Tree Press

• Identifying and assessing both key academic concepts and social and emotional concepts

46 |

SUSTAINABLE PROJECT-BASED LEARNING

Nonnegotiable Aspects of SPBL

Negotiable Aspects of SPBL The degree to which you incorporate the PBL design elements and the number of full PBL units you implement (strong encouragement to do at least one, though)

A commitment to using protocols during teacher collaboration time

What protocols you use

A focus on developing assessment-capable learners, meaning students can identify where they are, where they have been, and where they are going in their learning. Ideally, students are familiar with the terms surface, deep, and transfer to describe their learning.

Not applicable

A goal of growth for both students and teachers

The aspects in which you grow (for example, PBL, action research, protocols, content understanding, and so on)

Visit go.SolutionTree.com/21stcenturyskills for a free reproducible version of this table.

As you begin thinking about how to make PBL sustainable, remember to keep these nonnegotiable and negotiable aspects in mind. Remember, it is called PBL because it is an ongoing learning process for both students and educators. Students will grow in their academic knowledge and SEL skills, and teachers and administrators will develop their collaboration skills through action research.

Traditional PBL Versus Sustainable PBL Several factors set sustainable PBL apart from traditional PBL. These factors include: 1. SPBL applies John Hattie’s research to emphasize and grow teacher collective efficacy through goal setting and intentional teacher action research focused on evidence of student learning. This is part of the SPBL process, but not inherently a part of planning and implementing a traditional PBL unit. Working in collaborative teams not only grows teacher efficacy, but the team provides support and accountability to focusing on student learning outcomes.

2. SPBL places an equal emphasis on students growing in an SEL skill as it does content knowledge. In SPBL, teachers design an intentional learning intention, success criteria, and tasks centered around both an SEL skill and a content standard. In traditional PBL, an SEL skill might be addressed, or mentioned, but not in as intentional a fashion as in an SPBL unit. This further justifies the amount of time spent on a longer-term unit as students have clear and equally emphasized simultaneous learning outcomes in both a content application and growth in a specific SEL skill.

3. SPBL includes planning the unit using the traditional seven PBL design elements (the driving question, voice and choice, reflection, critique and revision, sustained inquiry,

©️2022 by Solution Tree Press

A conscious effort to incorporate at least some of the PBL design elements in each unit throughout the year (and a commitment to doing at least one unit per year with all PBL design elements)

Maintaining a Sustainable Relationship With Project-Based Learning

| 47

authenticity, culminating public product). However, SPBL emphasizes going beyond the design elements and focusing on clear evidence of student learning at three levels: (1) surface, (2) deep, and (3) transfer.

5. SPBL encourages teachers to infuse high-impact tasks and strategies within the context of the SPBL unit (see figure 1.4, page 14, for some of Hattie’s high-impact strategies). Traditional PBL does not focus on the intentional use of research-based, high-impact strategies.

6. Figure 3.3 shows a Venn diagram of the three most important components of SPBL. These are what make PBL sustainable: (1) student growth in social and emotional learning, (2) deep conversations about learning through teacher action research, and (3) student academic growth through project-based learning.

Student growth in skills through Social and Emotional Learning

Sustainable ProjectBased

Student academic growth through Project-Based Learning

Source: © 2021 by Christian Elden. Used with permission.

Figure 3.3: SPBL Venn diagram.

Learning

Deep conversations about learning through Teacher Action Research

©️2022 by Solution Tree Press

4. The SPBL approach is influenced by McDowell’s (2017) perspective in Rigorous PBL by Design. The SPBL planning template asks unit designers to plan learning intentions and driving questions at the transfer level in a way that allows applications to various contexts. For example, if the learning intention focuses on research, the context for the first year the SPBL unit is implemented might be students conducting research on childhood obesity. The next year, the teacher might change the context from childhood obesity to climate change. The learning intention stays the same (research), but the context changes. This makes units reusable, as the teacher can simply change the contexts of their milestones, assessments, and tasks; they do not have to recreate the unit from scratch. This not only makes the time spent planning more justifiable for the teacher, but focusing on the learning intention void of context helps students see how the skill of research can be applied to multiple contexts, not just one. This approach is different than traditional PBL, as it is likely students are only seeing how to apply learning to one context.

48 |

SUSTAINABLE PROJECT-BASED LEARNING

Teaching is an art, but all artists have some level of guidance and structure. Artists must work in the right conditions to be inspired and successful. The same holds true for educators. As an educator, you must have some guidance and some structure. You must have the conditions to be successful. When it comes to PBL there is a fine line between having guidance and structure and losing ownership of the PBL process. Passive compliance occurs when teachers feel like they must have complete fidelity to a model. Authentic engagement occurs when teachers receive examples and open-ended questions, and have the opportunity to make the art of teaching their own. In order for PBL to be sustainable, planning and implementation should address the three SPBL questions from the previous section and be nonnegotiable on the principles listed in table 3.1 (page 45).

Common Errors in Sustainability

Adding an authentic context is an essential element of PBL. However, ensuring that students have a clear understanding of what the content is and how the context leads to the application of that content is more important. In a PBL unit, students should know precisely what the learning intention is, as well as the success criteria, which should be at the surface, deep, and transfer levels of learning.

By being this explicitly clear, teachers help students focus on the learning and not the context or the product. In other words, a common error in PBL is that students focus on the context or the product more than the learning goal or application of the learning standard. A clear learning intention also provides students with a greater opportunity to be capable of self-assessment, as they can identify where they are in their learning (surface, deep, or transfer) based on the success criteria. They can say, “I am at the surface level of learning because I am still learning key vocabulary,” or “I can compare and contrast the economies of the North and the South, so I am at the deep level.”

A common misconception about PBL is people confuse giving students voice and choice with allotting them independent work time for an independent study. Project-based learning is not an independent study (see figure 3.4). If, in fact, PBL is too open ended, and the learning

©️2022 by Solution Tree Press

Within the context of a PBL unit, teachers should incorporate influences that have high effect sizes according to Hattie’s research (Visible Learning MetaX, n.d.). This research shines a light on some weaknesses of PBL. For example, when designing and implementing a PBL unit, teachers must be explicitly clear with students regarding the learning intentions (major concepts) and success criteria (daily or weekly learning targets) because teacher clarity has a 0.84 effect size, while self-reported grades have a 1.33 effect size (Visible Learning MetaX, n.d.). This means students need to be able to identify where they are in their learning, where they have been in their learning, and where they are going in their learning. They should be able to do more than merely restate the driving question or regurgitate the context of a PBL unit. Too often, it gets exciting to think of an authentic context for a project or product, and the content gets lost. You can address a lack of clarity by ensuring that the learning intentions are absolutely clear for students.

Maintaining a Sustainable Relationship With Project-Based Learning

| 49

intentions and success criteria are unclear, students might misunderstand the content and walk away unaware of where they are in their learning as it relates to that content. Be intentional about having clear learning intentions and success criteria to help prevent students from getting too blinded by the context instead of being clear about the content.

Well-Designed and Implemented PBL Unit

Completely Teacher-Led Direct Instruction

Independent Study

Project-based learning should allow for student voice and choice, but also be based on formative assessments, and teachers should be adaptive and aware of when they need to implement direct instruction and guided practice.

What Makes a PBL Unit Sustainable As noted previously, we will be using an anchor unit as an example throughout this book— an eighth grade social studies unit called Modern-Day Abolitionists. Figure 3.5 (page 50) is an example of a completed SPBL unit template for Modern-Day Abolitionists. The template is adapted from a template in McDowell’s (2017) Rigorous PBL by Design. We will unpack this template stage by stage and step by step. At first glance, you should see why this version of PBL is sustainable, considering the following three factors.

The emphasis is on the learning, not the context or the product. The learning intentions and success criteria are clearly established.

1. It integrates the SEL skill directly into the unit. There is an equal value placed on the SEL skill and the content skill.

2. Although thorough, this planning template is meant to be practical for teachers to use as a planning tool.

3. A PBL unit can be overwhelming to plan, so teachers might think the “juice is not worth the squeeze.” By adding both greater clarity and integrating SEL skills into the unit, it makes the juice worth the squeeze.

©️2022 by Solution Tree Press

Figure 3.4: Where PBL falls between direct instruction and independent study.

50 |

SUSTAINABLE PROJECT-BASED LEARNING

Stage 1: Create a learning intention for both academic content and SEL (a major concept for the unit and a Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning [CASEL] competency).

1. Content learning intention: I can apply the knowledge I gain from historical research on the causes of the U.S. Civil War to create connections and solutions (8.1.11, 8.1.20, 8.1.21, 8.1.22, 8.1.23, 8.1.24, 8.1.25, 8.4.2, 8.4.3, LH.1, LH.2, LH.3, LH.4, LH.5, LH.6, LH.7).

2. SEL learning intention (social awareness): I can present the perspective of another race on an issue of discrimination.

Stage 2: Develop content and SEL success criteria for each level of learning (daily learning goals).

You could have multiple goals; they should be written without context or specificity.

Deep-Level Success Criteria for Content

Transfer-Level Success Criteria for Content

I can define key terms such as abolitionist, yeoman, popular sovereignty, limited or total war, and so on.

I can compare and contrast the economic causes of slavery in the pre–Civil War era with the economic causes of slavery today.

I can apply my knowledge and understanding of the past and solve a problem that exists today (answer to the driving question).

Surface-Level Success Criteria for SEL

Deep-Level Success Criteria for SEL

Transfer-Level Success Criteria for SEL

I can describe what the term implicit bias means.

I can compare and contrast my implicit bias on a related topic with someone else’s implicit bias on the same topic.

I can apply my knowledge and understanding of the role my own implicit bias plays in social issues, and I can recognize and empathize with those who have different perspectives.

Stage 3: Craft the driving question at the transfer level, adding authentic context for the unit.

Driving question: To what extent can we use our knowledge of the past to abolish slavery today?

Authentic context: Students will simulate what it might feel like to work for a nonprofit or philanthropic organization.

Stage 4: Create tasks that align with the success criteria (specific tasks and activities).

Surface-Level Content Tasks

Deep-Level Content Tasks

Transfer-Level Content Tasks

Reading: Read excerpts from the textbook.

Reading: Compare modernday abolitionist writing with Civil War–era abolitionist writing.

Reading: Provide peer critiques on formal letters, offering different perspectives.

Writing: Use a graphic organizer to compare and contrast the economic factors of slavery in the North and South during the Civil War as well as with factors causing slavery today.

Writing: Write persuasive letters that incorporate historical research.

Writing: Define key terms.

Speaking: Do a think-pair-share on key content terms.

Speaking: Conduct a class debate on the most significant economic causes of slavery.

Speaking: Present answers to the driving question to parents, peers, and community members.

©️2022 by Solution Tree Press

Surface-Level Success Criteria for Content

Maintaining a Sustainable Relationship With Project-Based Learning

Surface-Level SEL Tasks

Deep-Level SEL Tasks

Transfer-Level SEL Tasks

Reading: Read a short article on examples of social awareness.

Reading: Read an article comparing and contrasting selfawareness and social awareness.

Reading: Read an article about connections between discrimination before the Civil War and discrimination today.

Writing: Define key terms related to social awareness, such as empathy, implicit bias, and perspective.

Speaking: Hold a small-group discussion on what it means to be empathetic. Also, discuss the different roles and perspectives for the project (fair-trade researcher, data analysis expert, and so on).

Writing: Write an informal journal reflection about a time when you had difficulty understanding the perspective of someone else.

Speaking: Conduct a Socratic seminar comparing and contrasting social awareness and self-awareness.

| 51

Writing: Infuse the concept of social awareness into a persuasive letter.

Speaking: Describe what society can do to be more socially aware of modern-day slavery while answering the driving question.

Discuss a separate issue about which society can be more socially aware.

Show a video with images and statistics of slavery in the United States during the Civil War era, as well as images and statistics of slavery from around the world today. Use a need-to-know protocol to start the inquiry process. Need-to-know categories include: (1) causes of the Civil War, (2) economic factors of slavery, (3) abolitionists and other key people, and 4) battles and military strategies.

Source: Adapted from McDowell, 2017, p. 149. Used with permission.

Source for standards: Indiana Department of Education, 2020c.

Figure 3.5: Completed example of the SPBL planning template.

Visit go.SolutionTree.com/21stcenturyskills for a free blank reproducible version of this figure.

The planning template provides a different approach than traditional PBL. As emphasized throughout this book, SPBL is focused on ensuring there is strong evidence of student learning and growth in both content knowledge and SEL skills. It places a specific emphasis on clear learning intentions and success criteria, and content knowledge and social and emotional learning have equal priority. This planning template provides an overview and vision for the sustainable PBL planning process. This five-stage process is the first step (see chapter 5, page 69) to ensure sustainability of this powerful methodology. Chapters 5–9 will depict each of the five steps for implementing sustainable PBL. 1. Plan the SPBL unit (chapter 5, page 69).

2. Develop sustainable PBL assessments (chapter 6, page 87).

3. Establish a clear goal for student learning (chapter 7, page 101).

4. Conduct teacher action research (chapter 8, page 109).

5. Reflect, refine, and celebrate the successful implementation of SPBL (chapter 9, page 121).

Moving forward in this text, we will take a close look at these five steps. Each step is important to sustaining project-based learning. In an effort to prevent what happened to Harrison School District, it is imperative that you always maintain focus on student learning. Following the five

©️2022 by Solution Tree Press

Stage 5: Create an entry event to launch the sustained-inquiry process.

52 |

SUSTAINABLE PROJECT-BASED LEARNING

steps of SPBL and having ongoing collective inquiry around the three SPBL questions (see page 45) ensures that the product itself does not become more important than student learning.

Perspectives From the Field: Aaron Eisberg What an Integrated-Content High School Looks Like, Sounds Like, and Feels Like As a wall-to-wall PBL school, we want to make sure learners are continuously making connections between content and community. The power of PBL is having students connect what they are learning in the classroom and how it can be applied to current-day contexts and situations in our local community. One of our core foundational values as a school is integrating content and being able to show how content integrates across the curriculum. Our school’s model centers on a collaborative culture among all teaching, leadership, and support staff roles that is designed not only out of necessity but to model what we believe is best for our students.

is 100 percent public, 100 percent unionized, and A−G certified in the state of California. Simply put, we have the same funding formula and the same testing requirements as traditional high schools in California. Our staff for the upcoming 2021−2022 school year will be approximately fifteen teachers. So how do we ensure high-quality project-based learning within a school structure centered on the work of collaborative teams? By integrating content.

We know that in traditional environments with larger student and staff populations collaborative teams are typically structured by content-area departments. When a similar content-area department gets together, team members look through the lens of their disciplinary content.

As we value multiple perspectives and multiple lenses, we structure our teams by integrated (interdisciplinary) content.

With our integrated content teams, we look at student work and continuously examine what can be done to improve student achievement. Multiple content lenses from our teachers bring different expertise levels. Each teacher brings their lens and ways to support learning and how to improve instruction and feedback. An English teacher brings grammatical expertise to a science teacher, who might bring structural and process expertise. With multiple content lenses there are also multiple opportunities for how students can apply their knowledge in different contexts. This is the power of interdisciplinary collaboration. The focus isn’t just on one content area but the whole body of work and how it can be applied in different contexts.

(A. Eisberg, learning coordinator, Center for Excellence at New Tech High School, Napa, California; personal communication, December 3, 2020).

Summary SPBL has a different approach to instruction than traditional PBL. For example, there is a specific emphasis on clear learning intentions and success criteria, and there is an equal priority placed on both content knowledge and SEL skills. The planning template in this chapter provides an overview and vision for the SPBL planning process. Completing this planning template

©️2022 by Solution Tree Press

We are a school of four hundred students, which means we do not have a large staff. Our school

Maintaining a Sustainable Relationship With Project-Based Learning

| 53

is one of the steps in the five-step process to ensure sustainability of this powerful methodology.

Moving forward in this text, you will examine each of the five steps of SPBL. Each step is essential to ensuring PBL is sustainable in your school.

Questions for Reflection Individually or in collaborative teams, answer the following questions to reflect on your learning in this chapter.

1. In what ways do you connect with Harrison School District?

2. Of Harrison School District’s three issues, which one do you think is most important? Why? 3. Which characteristics of the SPBL process are you most confident with? Why?

Visit go.SolutionTree.com/21stcenturyskills to download a free blank reproducible version of figure 3.5 (page 50), and use it to begin drafting either a new or a revised SPBL unit. Start by looking at your standards and curriculum map. Determine which unit you are interested in, your learning intention, and what might be a good driving question.

©️2022 by Solution Tree Press

Challenge

©️2022 by Solution Tree Press

Five Steps for Designing Authentic Classroom Experiences in Grades 5–12 “In Sustainable Project-Based Learning, Brad Sever doesn’t shy away from the hard questions. Instead, he leverages them to guide readers through their own deep inquiry experiences. His background as a veteran PBL teacher, school leader, and instructional coach makes him an ideal guide for the journey. His classroom-tested tools and research-based strategies will help readers reach their ultimate destination: better out­comes for students.”

—From the foreword by Suzie Boss “Take heed of Brad Sever’s advice in Sustainable Project-Based Learning, and you’ll be able to implement project-based learning that strikes at the very heart of advancing student academic learning and social-emotional well-being, and collective teacher efficacy. This important resource helps educators synthesize the latest research and practice to ensure project-based learning is actionable and sustainable in their schools.”

—Michael McDowell, Superintendent and Author

Sustainable Project-Based Learning

Five Steps for Designing Authentic Classroom Experiences in Grades 5–12

Grades 5–12 teachers will: • Learn the benefits of project-based learning and social-emotional learning for student growth and academic achievement • Discover a five-step process for planning SPBL units, integrating social-emotional learning and teacher action research, and maintaining a comprehensive SPBL framework in their curriculum • Receive reproducible tools and templates they can use independently or collaboratively to maximize student learning • Understand how to promote authentic student learning through connections to real-world experiences • Reflect with end-of-chapter questions to enhance their understanding of the material

ISBN 978-1-952812-33-0

Brad Sever

In Sustainable Project-Based Learning: Five Steps for Designing Authentic Classroom Experiences in Grades 5–12, author Brad Sever provides educators with a comprehensive instructional framework for sustainable project-based learning (SPBL). SPBL creates authentic learning experiences that allow students to gain knowledge and skills and transfer them across real-world contexts.

Sever shares a five-step process for integrating SPBL, along with social-emotional learning skills, into the curriculum. Educators learn how to plan, implement, and maintain project-based units that produce meaningful learning experiences for all students.

“Brad Sever is emerging as one of the top educational minds in project-based learning (PBL). In Sustainable Project-Based Learning, he makes PBL real and easily applicable for both teachers and students. Sever shows educators how to engage stakeholders in the PBL process and masterfully develops the much-needed connections between PBL and social-emotional learning into a comprehensive how-to guide that schools can use to effectively implement PBL to ensure sustainability.”

—Craig McCaffrey, Principal, Noblesville High School, Noblesville, Indiana

Sustainable Project-Based Learning

Sustainable Project-Based Learning

90000

Visit go.SolutionTree.com/21stcenturyskills to download the free reproducibles in this book.

SolutionTree.com

9 781952 812330

Brad Sever

Foreword by Suzie Boss